Page 81 of Loyally, Luke
Bad idea.
Not evenThe Lord of the Ringshelped, because Arwen was close enough to a princess.
His shoulders drooped for a second. Princesses were everywhere!
“Edge?”
Luke looked up at the nickname Jamie, Cade, and... the new kid staring back at him had given him over the past week. The boys had connected among the fellow builders in the same way Luke had seen back in the States. He wasn’t too sure about girls, but he knew most guys craved purposeful work. And the ones he mentored usually wanted a way to work with their hands.
Besides, since Jamie, Cade, and—what was the new kid’s name?—had started helping out with the renovations, the boys had also gotten a little more attention from some of the girls in the house. Not a bad byproduct of hard work.
“What do you boys need?”
Jamie gestured to the chair rail molding in his hands, a piece Luke had freshly cut to spruce up the long, empty wall on the opposite side of the kitchen cabinets. And the perfect spot for Mrs.Kershaw’s framed names from the closet. He’d run it by Ellie and she’d agreed. Putting the framed names back into the room where they found them held meaning.
“Do you want us to try to place these like you taught us yesterday?”
Luke kept his grin subtle despite the warmth of pride in his chest. “How far up the wall for these nine-foot ceilings?”
“Thirty-two inches,” came Cade’s quick reply.
Luke’s smile gave way then, and he nodded. “Go on then.”
The boys cast each other a bright-eyed look and scurried off to the far side of the room.
Gordon came up beside Luke. “I’ll keep watch over them, ya kin?”
“Sounds good, but I think they’re going to do just fine.”
“Aye,” the man responded low and deep, like a soft growl. Reminded him of his grandpa. “They got minds for the task, if they can keep their focus.”
Luke moved back toward the additional room to finish up some trim work, and as soon as he stepped through the newly widened doorway, the scent of oranges hit him. Ellie turned at his entrance, her hair pulled back in a long ponytail, a pale pink sweater falling around a pair of black leggings.
She looked like she needed somebody to hug her.
And that somebody needed to be him.
“You mentioned I could help you with the trim this afternoon.”
He studied the room to give himself time to place his mind in the direction of their deal, the fresh-cut pieces of baseboard lying against their designated spots catching his eye. His attention flipped to hers, a smile pulling at his lips. “I know you’re handy with a hammer, but have you ever used a nail gun?”
Her brows rose. “No, but I’m sure you can teach me.”
He rested his hands on his hips, giving her the once-over. “I reckon I can.”
And daggone it if she didn’t imitate his stance and give him the once-over right back. “Then we’d better get to work.”
Lord have mercy! He’d never imagined falling in love with a princess, let alone one who wanted to learn how to use a nail gun. Without a hitch, his thoughts veered quickly in the direction of kissing her.
After pressing the baseboard in place, he demonstrated a few times with the gun and then handed it to her. “Now, the first few times you nail it, you might be a little surprised at how intense it feels. It’s fast. So be careful of where your hands and feet are.”
He lowered himself to his knees beside her and she positioned the nail gun against the wood, but at an odd angle.
“Just turn your hand a bit like this.” He covered her hand withhis, his body almost cocooning her. Her ponytail brushed against his chin and he drew in a long, deep breath of her oranges. His throat nearly squeezed closed.
She shifted her fingers beneath his. “Like this?”
Yep, her voice sounded about as tight as his.
